Through the Fairy Ring

Chapter Eight

I gave Arden the rundown of the incident with the fairy. "He said he was of the Frid-Adhar line, but that's all we got out of him before he cut the bag and escaped."

"Is the Frid-Adhar line the bad one?" Tavi asked.

Arden crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not the worst, but that matters not to the children. The Frid-Adhar fairies have a venom that changes the person bitten. Their bodies vanish, and they become spirit, but not dead. In the past, the fairies ate the spirits. Human souls are considered a delicacy."

"What?" I gasped.

"They aren't allowed to eat them now." Arden added quickly. "When the fairies sought asylum in the Realm, the agreement was that they would not hunt souls anymore."

"But why else would they have bitten them?"

"I don't know." He slumped back in the chair and rubbed his forehead. "As obnoxious as Edlark can be, I don't believe he would put his people at risk of having to leave Shee-Elan for such a reason."

"Can the poison be reversed?" I asked.

"There is an antidote, and as long as it is administered before the sickness is too advanced, the children would recover. Edlark could make some."

"Then let's talk to him. Don't you find it strange that Rosen Manor is swarmed by fairies and then Edlark shows up in your foyer? Isn't that a little suspicious?"

"Regrettably, Edlark is here a lot, so it may be merely a coincidence." Arden let out a sigh and motioned to Jax. "Will you bring Edlark to my office? I'll let you get him inside, and then we'll come down."

"If I must." Jax rolled his eyes again and left. When I'd first met Jax, his handlebar moustache and no-nonsense attitude intimidated me. It turned out that the tough exterior hid a devoted family man and loyal friend. Not to mention, a well-developed sense of humor.

After a few minutes, Arden ushered us out the door and led us downstairs. When we got to the foyer, Edlark was gone but the other two fairies remained in the corner. Arden addressed the people still waiting for him. "I apologize for taking your time. I'll be with you in a moment, if you can hold on just a bit longer."

The fairies barely looked over at him, but the men all nodded and went back to their discussions, obviously more patient than the fairy king.

We filed down the hallway that ran under the stairs on the left, past the kitchen where a servant appeared to be preparing lunch, and beyond the library and into the room at the end. A simple desk and two wooden chairs, one of which Edlark sat on, filled most of the space. The fairy king watched me from the moment I'd crossed the threshold. I stared back at him, unwilling to let him intimidate me. He had some explaining to do.

Arden extended his hand in greeting. "Good afternoon, Edlark. I appreciate your patience."

Ignoring Arden's gesture, Edlark said, "I did not have a choice, now did I?"

"We always have choices." Arden let his hand drop. "I had an emergency I had to attend to. Surely you would not begrudge me an hour to help innocent children?"

"Her children?" He jerked his head in my direction.

"Yes, my children," I snapped. "Your Frid-Adhar fairies bit my children."

"It wasn't one of my fairies. There are none in the area. They live in Darag-Brynn."

He couldn't be serious. "No, they're here. They attacked my home this morning. I caught one, and he said he was of the Frid-Adhar line and mentioned you."

"If you caught one, then where is he?" Edlark's eyes glittered. "I tend not believe humans unless they can back up their stories."

"Enough, Edlark." Arden's words were sharp. "The children are sick, and Hazel does not lie."

The fairy king's face darkened. "Neither do I. No fairies have reported to me, as they must when they come from other lands. I don't know what your girlfriend caught, but it wasn't a fairy."

A slow burn rose up my neck and into my cheeks. "I'm not lying, and I'm not his—" I jabbed my finger in Arden's direction—"girlfriend. My children are sick, bitten by one of your fairies. Did you tell the fairies to attack me?"

"You're delusional."

"Then tell us how to heal my children. Fix this."

"I will tell you nothing. You verbally attack me and then expect my aid. I come here looking for help from the Daragward, and instead am accused of something not possible and called a liar." He turned on Arden. "You need to think with something besides your male parts."

He jumped to his feet and stalked out of the room.

The three of us looked at each other, speechless.

"I wonder what he needed help with?" Tavi asked, her blue eyes round.

"It must not have been that important." Arden sighed wearily. "I need to see what the others in the foyer want, before they start accusing me of 'thinking with my man parts.'"

"I'm sorry," I said.

"For what?"

A new heat flushed my cheeks. "For last night. For what he said. He was mad that you let me come up and that he had to wait."

"It's not any of your doing. He's a bitter, proud man and is always mad about something. I've had to turn down several of his requests, so now he's ready to fight as soon as he gets here." The corners of his mouth lifted. "What's so bad about being called my girlfriend? You denied that accusation quickly."

My heart did a little hop, and I cursed the fact that he could hear my heartbeat. There was nothing bad about being called his girlfriend. It was a title I'd like very much, but not one I was allowed to have, for a reason I didn't know. "I just didn't want him to get the wrong idea."

Now I sounded defensive.

He chuckled. "I'll check on Meara and Garron as soon as I can." He left, and Tavi crossed her arms.

"Well, now what?" she asked.

"I don't know." The fairy king's rapid escalation and refusal to help was puzzling. Was he really that spiteful because he had to wait? Or did I unknowingly cross some line last night? In any case, the reaction didn't fit the situation. The possibility of failure weighed heavy in my stomach. There had to be some other way to find the antidote. "I guess I'll go back to the manor and search for some clues to where the fairies went, so I can find one. If I have proof fairies bit Meara and Garron, then Edlark will have to believe me, and hopefully help me."

It was a longshot. I doubted the fairy woman I'd left behind at the Manor would still be there.

"I'm going with you, then." Her expression dared me to tell her no, but I wouldn't do it. Meara and Tavi had a unique bond, and besides, I welcomed her optimism.

"Thanks. I could use some company right now. Let's go say goodbye to the kids."